This very easy cake needs to be made in your kitchen. It's a moist layer of lemon cake with fresh blueberries and a crunchy, oil-based streusel topping that is amazing! The cake and crumble are made from the same mixture. This simple recipe keeps well and can be frozen.
Crumb cake or coffee cake?
Maybe it's a bit of both.
This moist cake is a great summer recipe and tastes as good as it looks, bringing a splash of sunshine if you make it in the middle of winter. It doubles as a dessert or as part of a brunch or afternoon tea table.
Full of crunchy, juicy seasonal blueberries, tangy lemon zest and juice, and a tender crumb that is ridiculously easy to make. And it's best enjoyed at room temperature, which is key for both types of cake.
This cake is made from a divided crumb mixture, some for the topping and the rest mixed with a few other ingredients to make a sort of coffee cake. Well, it's truly amazing. And did I mention it's a one-bowl recipe? I find it all very appealing.
It has the crumb layer and the dense, sour cream amazingness of a coffee cake, sharing the category with great recipes like the blueberry coffee cake, cranberry coffee cake, apple crumb coffee Cake and my personal favorite Pumpkin Coffee Cake recipe.
Plus, some flavors work year-round and on every occasion. Lemon paired with blueberries is one of them.
Ingredient list
- Blueberries: fresh or frozen, they both work perfectly well. But during blueberry season, they're usually sweeter.
- Lemon: this recipe uses both lemon zest and fresh lemon juice.
- Vegetable oil: I like a neutral one like sunflower, but most oils work well, even olive or coconut oil.
- Sour cream: use the regular, full-fat type. It adds richness and moisture.
- Egg: fresh, large.
- All-purpose or cake flour.
- Salt.
- Baking powder and baking soda: make sure they're not expired.
- White granulated sugar.
- Vanilla extract.
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
Variations & substitutions
- Melted butter: a substitute for the oil for a more traditional streusel topping. Use the same amount of unsalted butter and follow the same instructions.
- Brown sugar: you can substitute it for the white sugar in the same amount. It will give the cake a golden hue.
- Cinnamon: complements the rest of the flavors and adds a warmer tone to the cake. Any ground cinnamon you typically use works fine.
- Orange: use it instead of lemon for a sweeter, less sharp cake. Or use it in addition to lemon, half of each for a mellower lemon flavor.
- Nuts: add a handful of chopped pecans or walnuts to the crumb topping.
The crumb mixture
- It's used for both the cake batter and the crumb topping.
- It's made with oil, so it comes together really fast.
- It's the perfect alternative if you can't eat butter or want a vegan crumb mixture.
I might use it from now on for other recipes, that's how good it is.
I usually use butter for my fruit crumbles, the old-fashioned way, but using oil was a wonderfully pleasant surprise. Might I even say it bakes crisper? I might, indeed.
- All ingredients go into a medium mixing bowl. I use my hands or a fork to mix. But a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or pastry cutter also work well.
- The crumble usually has large clumps and that is good for crunchiness. Part of this mixture is reserved for the topping.
The cake batter
- The rest of the ingredients are added to the remaining streusel mix and beaten until smooth.
- Assembling this blueberry cake is easy: spread the cake batter, scatter blueberries, and sprinkle the reserved streusel.
Vintage Kitchen Tip
After incorporating flour in a cake batter, we don't want to develop gluten, as it will toughen the baked cake. So mix *just* until it's all well incorporated but don't overbeat. I like to end mixing with a silicon spatula to ensure the ingredients are fully integrated.
Baking
- Parchment paper: you can line the pan with a strip of wax or parchment paper that's as wide as the pan and long enough to cover two sides. This means that the bottom and two sides will be covered, while the other two will only be greased. When ready to remove the cake, lift the whole piece with the help of the paper, especially if using a pan without a removable bottom.
- Cake tester or toothpick: even though it's a very moist cake, if a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, remove it from the oven.
- Sinking middle: this recipe's crumbly nature makes it a dense cake, with a slight depression in the middle most of the time.
- Blueberries: as they bake, they release juices that moisten the cake and the golden brown topping.
Kitchen Notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, utensils and equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as possible, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend keeping track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Flour mixture: this is made up of flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. They are part of the dry ingredients. This mix can usually be substituted by self-rising flour with good results. I say usually because self-rising flour varies from one country and brand to the other and might have different amounts of salt and baking powder in the ingredients. And we can't control that.
- Mixing: I like to use a medium bowl for the streusel topping, a large bowl for mixing the final cake and an electric mixer. You can use the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, but it's not recommended. This is a small cake, and most stand mixers are meant for larger amounts of batter.
- Blueberry muffins: you can make this blueberry crumb cake recipe into muffins. They will be sort of blueberry coffee cake muffins if you ask me. Gorgeous! The yield would be around 12.
- Serving it: I highly recommend eating it at room temperature to let the flavors shine. But keep it refrigerated if you don't eat it all at once. I love it as a breakfast cake to be eaten the next morning after it's baked. I find the flavors even better.
Citrus berry combinations
As with most recipes containing citrus and berries, you can mix and match. My favorites for this cake:
- Lime and strawberry have been a favorite combination of this blog since we made the Strawberry Danish Braid; it is fresh and tangy at the same time.
- Orange and blackberries are another combo that surprised us when we made the Blackberry Muffin Loaf. They make for a sweeter cake.
- Lemon and Raspberries: another classic that never fails. The acid in the raspberries perfectly balances the richness of this crumb cake.
- Plain citrus cake: forgo the berries and make this a lemon cake. Or lime.
Related recipes you might like:
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Blueberry Crumb Cake (with oil)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 teaspoons powdered sugar , for sprinkling
- extra blueberries, for serving, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325ºF (170ºC).
- Lightly butter or spray a non-stick 8 or 9-inch round or square pan. You can line it with a strip of parchment paper, covering the pan's bottom and two sides. The other two sides will remain unlined but greased. This will help you remove the bars from the pan.
- In a large bowl, stir 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon zest.
- Make a hole in the middle, add ½ cup vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons lemon juice and stir with a fork until flour is evenly moistened and the mixture forms clumps. Set aside 1 cup of this mixture in a separate bowl.
- To the remaining mixture, add 1 egg, 1 cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon baking soda.
- Mix well with an electric mixer at low speed until the batter is smooth.
- Spread in the prepared pan, scatter ¾ cup blueberries on top and sprinkle with reserved cup of crumb mixture.
- Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until dry, golden and a tester inserted comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly, tent with a piece of aluminum foil until it's done.
- Let cool on a wire rack.
- Lightly sprinkle 1 teaspoons powdered sugar on top of the cake or use a lemon glaze (see Notes) and serve with extra blueberries if you want to.
Notes
Nutrition
Adapted from an old Bon Appetit magazine
Dianne says
I have looked at this recipe and read it out loud 3x, there is no cinnamon in the ingredients!
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Dianne! It's optional but it was in the instructions, a typo. Apologies and thanks for the heads-up. You can add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon to the flour mixture.
Liz says
I'd eat this beauty for breakfast and then again for dessert! This flavor combo cannot be beat!
Paula Montenegro says
I would too Liz! Have a great day my friend!
Melissa says
Hi Paula, this Blueberry Crumb Cake is Amazing!! Thank you so much!! I've tried many recipes, and this one is for sure the "keeper" if I was wanting to use the same recipe minus the blueberries/lemon zest for a coffee cake what do you suggest? Add more cinnamon?
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Melissa, so happy to hear this! Isn't the crumble with oil amazing?
You can really flavor it with any citrus or spice. For a plain crumb cake omit the lemon and blueberries and increase the vanilla and cinnamon for sure. You can also add some pure almond flavor or another ground spice like apple pie mix or a pinch of cardamom that goes very well with cinnamon.
Jahanzaib Khan says
Paula, This crumb cake looks so wonderful… What a nice treat! Hope things will run more smoothly very soon (work and all.
Paula Montenegro says
Thanks!
Kathy says
Paula, This crumb cake looks so wonderful…would love to have a piece with my morning cup of tea! It would make my morning perfect!
Andrea_TheKitchenLioness says
Paula, your Lemon Crumb cake would be a perfect breakfast teat for me as well - have to agree with your dad there. I always enjoy a slice of "Coffee Cake" in the mornig. What a nice treat! Hope things will run more smoothly very soon (work and all)!
Baker Street says
Blueberry! Crumb! Cake! You are saying all the right words, Paula! Heh. Excellent recipe. 🙂
Angie's Recipes says
The cake looks really moist and beautiful. It would be great with some coffee or tea.
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
This is one of the best flavour combinations of all time! I love baking with sour cream - it makes cakes so delightfully moist. Your cake looks beautiful and delicious, especially with that crumb topping!
Zeeona @ Basil and Strawberry says
Looks fantastic, and seems to be simle to put together, so it is a must-try!
Susan says
Just gorgeous, Paula! I'll have to try this!
e / dig in says
ooh, my comment didn't seem to appear. i love how homely this looks. cup of tea and perhaps a blob of thick cream; perfection.
e / dig in says
that looks wonderfully homely! greta with a cup of tea. or a blob of cream.
yummychunklet says
What a delicious looking blueberry crumb cake!
Medeja says
I wish I had some now with my tea 😀
And I can only agree that lemon and blueberries are best friends 😀
Guru Uru says
What a gorgeous flavoured crumb cake 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
chinese restaurant brisbane says
Wonderful recipe, nice explained. Thanks!